Grain regulator



June 27, 1950 C, D STREHLOW 2,513,215

GRAIN REGULATOR Filed Dec. ll, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l nventor Gttorneg June 27, 1950 c. D. STREHLOW GRAIN REGULATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. l1. 1948 Gitorneg Patented June 27, 1950 UNl'f-'I'ED-- SFAI'IIEZS;r PATENT OFFICE REGULATE Ghester: D. Strehlow, Spokane, Wash.

Application December 11, 1948, Serial'No. 64",'880

5 Claims.

A lf This' invention relates'fto a grain regulator? and it` is` one object of the invention` toA provide a regulator which will controlflow ofgrain'.` from a bin or other storage receptacleMV and veryfeffec; tively restrict the flow of4 grain: to a; predeter. M mined amountin a giventiine.'

Anotherl objecti of the' invention` is to provide al grain regulatoria body" or casing'througlrwhich'V the: grain ilows from a chamber at the top of' the housing to an outlet' at the bottom there'- of, a gate being 'mounted in" thehoufsi'ng in such relation tothe outletv of the upper chamberthat* flow' of grain from the chamber will be con'- trolled; means being provided externally ofi the housing for" adjusting the position offr the gate relative to the outlet oithe chamber.

Another object of the` inventionr iss tofprovide. a grain regulator wherein. thegate is mountedr at'the inner end of an' arm" which projects outwardly from the housing and is'pivoted:to alsup'w porting arm which in itsturn is pivotally mount-y edland carries a weight which is adapted. to be. shifted longitudinally of the supporting armV and serves to hold the gate in an. adjusted' position,

Another object of the invention isftofprcvide withinl the housing a d'eector plate which is pivotally mounted in position for engagementY byl grain owingJv downwardly from the upper chamber of they housing a-ndrservesl to move the' gate: towards a closed position iftoo much-grain is ilowing from .thech'amben Another object vof the invention`- is to so-vmount the delector plate that when the weight -isshifted alongl the supporting arm` they deflector will beY at the same time tilted? to adjusted positions r' and thus caused to accommodate' itself to diiferent kindsv of grain.

Another object' of' the invention is to provide a regulator of suchv construction that'. it may be easily mounted over storage'bin and indicate the amount of grain flowingv from a receiving bin or the line tothe storage bin.

TheV invention is illustratedl inthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective'view ofA the improved f itslower' end surrounded: by' an. attaching: flange 2A and its upper end surrounded by a ilange 3'.

Thef frontwall 4 of the housing has an upper portion 5 extending at a rearward incline so that the inletS at.` the top of the housingis' consid.- erably'smaller than the outlet l at thn bottom of; the housing and thus allow grain flowing downwardly through the housing to freely llow out'. of the open bottom of the housing. A sight opening 8 is formed` through the lower portion of therear wall 9 of the housing so that an attendantmay observe flow of grain through the`r housing; this sight opening being normally closedibya plate'or door IS; The door. or closurey plate is` mounted upon a pivot pin Il projectingl x from; the rearwall above the sight openiing'andl at' its lower end the door carries a knob l2 by means of which itl can be easily swung to an opened position; A spring I3 about the pin I I` urges the door towards the housing and this. spring isheld. upon the pin by a nut M- which is. sufficiently tightened.l to place the spring under tension and. cause it to` hold the door in frictional binding: engagement with the rear` wall of the housing; Near its upperY end the rear- 2 wardly' extending portion 5 of the front wall is formed. with a transversely extending opening l5` andi from this opening leads a slot i5- which extends downwardly through-.the front wall to afpoint near the lower end thereof, as shown in Figure'Z. Plates IT and I 8 are mounted in the upper portion oi the housing, and from an inh spection ofFigure 2 it will be seen-that thev plate I'Textendsforwardly at a downward incline from theLrear wall. oi?y the housing and that the plate Ill` extends downwardly from the front wail above the opening i5; These plates form a bottom andA a front wallv for a chamber IS in the upper end' of the housing and since the front plate has its lower edge spaced upwardly from the lower plate l1 there is provided an outlet through whichA grain may now from. the cham'- ber and downwardly through the housing towards the open lower end of the housing throughA whichk it will freely flow as theY outlet l at the bottom of the vhousing is a great deal larger than the entrance opening G- and the outlet 2G.

Brackets 2i extend forwardly from the iront wall of thehousing in spaced relation to opposite sides of theslot i6 and taper towards their front l'ends where they are formed with bosses 22 through which pass end portions of a shaft 23 having threaded end portions upon which nuts 2f; are` screwed to holdY the shaft against turn'- ing and longitudinal movement out of the bosses.

'Ani arm 25' formed of companion bars 25 mounted in side by side relation to each other extends through the slot I6 and at its inner end carries a gate 25 which serves as a closure for the space or outlet 2U between the plates l1 and i8, and referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that the gate is arcuate vertically and rests upon the lower or free end of the plate Il when in the closed position. Outer portions of the bars 25 form a fork 21 carrying sleeves 28 through which pass portions of the shaft 23. This shaft passes transversely through an airtight casing 29 and the intermediate portion of the shaft 23 en- 28 which pivotally surround the bosses. The casing 29, which has an arcuate wall 35, is mounted substantially midway the length of a balancing bar 35 and within the casing is a vane or iin 3l which is secured to shaft 23. Since the casing 29 is airtight and the edges of the i'ln have close fitting engagement with the walls of the casing 29, the bar 35 and arm 25 will have a smooth tilt-y ing movement and not a fast rocking movement, the iin acting as a suppressor. Therefore the gate will gradually move towards an opened or closed position and will remain in its adjusted position during the fl'ow of grain through the housing i. The bar 36 is open along its under face, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and within the channel of the bar are mounted bearing plates 33 and 3Q which serve to rotatably mount a threaded rod l5 carrying a weight 4| which has at its upperend a neck t2 formed with a threaded opening to receive the threaded shaft. The reduced end portion 43 of the shaft 40 which has its outer end rotatably mounted in a bearing M is threaded in an opposite direction tothe threads of the shaft and carries a cross bar 45 which moves in a direction opposite to that of the weight when the shaft D is turned through the medium of its operating knob 46. This knob is mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 40 and has scale markings 4l about the circumference of its inner end portion and at the outer end of the balancing bar te is a pointer 48 so that a person may accurately determine the extent to which the shaftall has been turned when adjusting the grain.

regulator. Ends of the cross bar 45 engage under. shoulders 49 formed along inner faces of the side walls 35" of the balancing bar 36 to prevent the cross bar from turning with the reduced end portion i3 of shaft 40, thereby causing the cross bar to move along the threaded shaft and longitudinally of the balance bar when the shaft is rotated. The under portion of the cross bar is formed with notches or recesses 50 into which fit arms I which pass through the lower portion of the opening or slot i6 and have their inner ends pivoted to a deflector plate 52 disposed within the housing I and pivoted at its upper end to the inner end of the balancing bar by a pin 53. The weight of the deflector plateI holds the arms 5l in the recesses 50 so that when the cross bar is moved forwardly along the reduced end portion i3 of the shaft 40 the deector plate will be tilted downwardly. When the cross bar is shifted rearwardly the arms 5I are forced downwardly and the deflector plate will then be tilted upwardly. When the shaft is rotated to shift the vweight and the cross bar towards or away from each other the balancing bar 36 will be tilted vertically and since this balancing bar has one side wall provided with scale markings 54 and the weight 4I has an arrow or pointer 55 on one side face to cooperate with the scale markings an attendant can readily determine whether the balancing bar is in its proper position. When the cross bar is in the position shown in Figure 2 the gate 26 is closed and is held in this closed position by cam plates 5B which are securedagainst'opposite side faces of the arrn or bar 25 by bolts 51 and extend downwardly therefrom with the arcuate lower edges bearing against the cross bar 5. When the cross bar is moved forwardly the weight of the bar 25 raises the gate towards an opened position and since the cross bar moves along the upper edges of the arms 5I the deflectorplate 52 will be swung downwardly to an adjusted position.

During use of the grain regulator a quantity of grain is fed into the housing through its upper end and this grain moves downwardly until it strikes the plate or bottom il of the chamber I9. The grain then flows along its bottom plate and since the mechanism will be adjusted to hold the gate 25 open the grain will flow through the outlet 2l] and drop from the plate ll towards the bottom of the housing. During this dropping movement the grain will strike the deector plate and as it flows along this plate it will have a tendency to swing the plate downwardly and hold the arms in close contacting engagement with the cross bar 45 as well as tending to tilt the balancing bar about the pivot shaft 23. By turning the knob the weight and the cross bar may be shifted longitudinally of the balancing bar and when proper adjustment has been made the gate Will be held open the desired amount. By applying selected ones of a number of cam plates 51 to the arm 25 the machine may be caused to accom'- modate itself to the kind of grain which is being delivered into the housing, it being understood that grains of different sizes and weights, such as wheat, oats, corn, and the like, apply more or less depressing force upon the plate 52 when they strike this plate and move downwardly along it.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A grain regulator comprising a housing having an inlet at its top and an outlet at its bottom, said housing also having an opening at its front, deflectors in the upper portion of said housing forming a chamber open at its top and having a discharge opening at its front, brackets projecting forwardly from the front of the housing at opposite sides of the front opening, a shaft extending between and secured to said brackets, an arm extending through the front opening and having forks at its outer end pivoted about said shaft, a gate at the inner end of said arm movable upwardly from a position in which it closes the discharge opening of the chamber to an opened position by tilting movement of the arm, a balancing bar `passing through the front opening and carrying an upwardly extending casing pivoted to the shaft, a fin in said casing carried by said shaft and checking tilting movement 'of the bar, a rod rotatably mounted longitudinally of the balancing bar and threaded in opposite directions from its front and rear ends, a weight threaded upon and suspended from the forward portion of the threaded rod, a cross bar threaded upon the rear portion of the threaded rod and moved in a direction opposite to that of the weight whenithe threaded rod is rotated, cam plates mounted at opposite sides of said arm and extending downwardly therefrom and formed with arcuate edges bearing against the cross bar, a deflector plate within said housing disposed below the bottom of said chamber and pivoted at its upper end to the balancing bar for vertical tilting movement, and arms extending forwardly from the last mentioned deilector plate and outwardly through the opening at the front of the housing with their outer ends extending under the cross bar with their upper edges bearing against the outer face of the cross bar.

2. A grain regulator comprising a housing open at its top and bottom and having a front Wall formed with an opening, a chamber in the upper portion of said housing formed with a discharge opening at its front, brackets projecting forwardly from said housing at opposite sides of the front opening, a shaft secured to and extending through the front opening and having its outer end pivotally mounted on said shaft, a gate at the inner end of the arm movable vertically into and out of closing relation to the discharge opening of said chamber by vertical tilting of the arm, a balancing bar pivotally mounted upon the shaft and extending into the housing under the arm, a -deflector plate pivoted to the inner end of the balancing bar and extending downwardly therefrom below and forwardly of the discharge opening of the chamber, a, threaded shaft rotatably mounted longitudinally of the balancing bar, a weight and a cross bar carried by said threaded shaft and moved longitudinally of the balancing bar in opposite directions when the shaft is rotated, arms extending forwardly from the deflector plate and having upper edges of their forward portions engaged across the under portion of the cross bar, and cam plates carried by and extending downwardly from the first mentioned arm with lower edges bearing against the cross bar.

3. A grain regulator comprising a housing open at its top and bottom and having a front wall formed with an opening, a 'chamber in the upper portion of said housing formed with a discharge opening at its front, brackets projecting forwardly from said housing at opposite sidesof the front opening, a shaft secured to and extending between said brackets, an arm extending through the front opening and having its outer end pivotally mounted on said shaft, a gate at the inner end of the arm movable vertically into and out of closing relation to the discharge opening of said chamber by vertical tilting of the arm, a balancing bar pivotally mounted upon the shaft and extending into the housing under the arm, a delector plate pivoted to the inner end of the balancing bar and extending downwardly therefrom below and forwardly of the discharge opening of the chamber, a Weight shiftable along the balancing bar to adjusted positions, a cross bar back of said weight shiftable along the balancing bar to adjusted positions, a cam carried by the arm and engaging the crossbar, and arms extending forwardly from said deflector plate and out of the housing with its outer portion 6 engaged across the under portion of the cross bar.

4. A grain regulator comprising a housing open at its top and bottom and having a front wall formed with an opening, a chamber in the upper portion of said housing formed with a, discharge opening at its front, brackets projecting forwardly from said housing at opposite sides of the front opening, a shaft secured to and extending between said brackets, an arm extending through the front opening and having its outer end pivotally mounted on said shaft, a gate at the inner end of the arm movable vertically into and out of closing relation to the discharge opening of said chamber by vertical tilting of the arm, a balancing bar pivotally mounted upon the shaft and extending into the housing under the arm, a deflector plate pivoted to the inner end of the balancing bar and extending downwardly therefrom below and forwardly of the discharge opening chamber, a weight under the balancing bar outwardly from the housing, a cross bar back of said weight, means mounting the weight and the cross bar for simultaneous movement along the balancing bar in opposite directions, a cam carried by the arm and engaging the cross bar, and a second arm extending forwardly from said deflector plate and out of the housing with its outer portion engaging the cross bar.

5. A grain regulator comprising a housing open at its top and bottom and having a front wall formed with an opening, a chamber in the upper portion of said housing formed with a discharge opening at its front, a, closure for the discharge opening, an arm carrying said closure and pivotally mounted with a portion projecting forwardly from the housing, a balancing bar under the arm pivotally mounted with a, portion projecting forwardly from the housing and a rear portion extending into the housing, a member for cushioning tilting movement of the balancing bar and arm during opening and closing of the closure, a weight under the forward portion of the balancing bar, a cross bar extending transversly of the rear portion of the balancing bar, means for supporting the weight and the crossy bar and shifting the same longitudinally of the balancing bar towards and away from each other, a cam between the arm and the cross bar for imparting tilting movement to the arm and imparting opening and closing movement to the closure when the balancing bar is tilted, and a second arm extending forwardly from the deflector plate and engaging the cross bar for imparting tilting movements to the deiiector when the balancing bar is moved.

CHESTER D. STREHLOW.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Bousser July 12, 1904 Number 

